One of the most important responsibilities of any anesthesia group's governance is to develop a strategic plan for the group. For some groups this is the role of the Board. In other groups, all shareholders participate in this process.Unfortunately, it appears that for many groups, "hope" is their strategy.We are continually surprised to find group...

SUMMARY Anesthesiology is in the midst of a 'Blockbuster-Netflix moment,' according to Daniel Cole, MD, immediate past president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. By focusing on innovation and opportunities for system performance improvement, and with insight into their own leadership styles, anesthesiology leaders can help the professi...

On October 1, 2015, a major change to diagnosis coding was rolled out with the International Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems 10th revision (ICD-10), and virtually all payers (except workers compensation and auto carriers) have agreed to implement the new codes. There was serious concern that the complexity of the new code seq...

SUMMARY Although our experience tells us that anesthesiologists and anesthesia groups are less likely than other specialty groups to become hospital employees, it's important to know what you could be facing should you find yourself in the situation of needing to negotiate an employment agreement. We highlight some of the takeaways from a presentat...

The concept of automating the anesthesia record has intrigued academicians for decades. Some of the early versions of software packages for computer-based record keeping were quite complete and impressive despite the technology's limitations during the 1980s and 1990s. A number of companies made significant investments in the various software optio...